Another Paige in the rivalry: Tar Heels sink Wolfpack in OT

North Carolina point guard Marcus Paige drives to the basket for the winning shot in overtime as N.C. State forward T.J. Warren defends.

The Associated Press

By Adam Smith / Times-News

Published: Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 01:22 AM.

RALEIGH — As Marcus Paige fielded questions from a pack of reporters in the North Carolina locker room, Brice Johnson was seated a few feet away, wearing a grin that looked permanently plastered on his face, in a state of marvel at what he just had witnessed.

“That was amazing,” Johnson said, shaking his head and smiling. “He was on fire. That’s the greatest I’ve ever seen him play. He won it for us.”

Each of those four sentences rang so very true on a classic Wednesday night that became a tour de force between two of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s best players.

In an all-out duel with North Carolina State’s T.J. Warren, Paige summoned a heroic 35-point performance from which the 19th-ranked Tar Heels needed every last clutch drop to escape the Wolfpack 85-84 in overtime at PNC Arena.

Paige’s driving layup — the 6-foot-1 lefty extended past the 6-8 Warren after picking up a screen from Johnson out high — kissed off the backboard and fell through as the game-winner with 0.9 seconds remaining in another typically heated clash between these old rivals.

That was the ultimate silencer, the final masterful stroke of his 31 points and seven 3-pointers delivered after halftime, that capped North Carolina’s rally from a six-point deficit in overtime and ended a sublime, can-you-top-this shootout with Warren, who electrified this building at times while delivering 36 points.

“It was quite a scoring exhibition by both of us,” Paige said. “It would be a knock to say that my teammates weren’t giving it their all, but at the same time, two great shot-makers were making a lot of shots.”

Warren, the ACC’s top scorer, went to the foul line with 7.7 seconds left and the score tied 83-83. He missed the first free throw. The second one bounced in for an 84-83 N.C. State lead.

As Paige dribbled across midcourt with the precious time evaporating, North Carolina coach Roy Williams was pointing to the spot at the top of the key where he wanted Johnson to set the screen.

Warren, moving into help position, was the last line of defense. He challenged Paige in the lane and nearly blocked the decisive shot with his outstretched right arm.

“I saw a pretty big opening,” Paige said. “I also knew I had three or four layups in the second half blocked at the rim. So I knew I was going to have to extend and put it high off the glass and hope for a good bounce.”

He poured in 10 points during overtime after scoring the final seven points of regulation for the Tar Heels (21-7 overall, 11-4 ACC), who trailed by nine early in the second half and seven with less than nine minutes remaining in regulation, yet still managed to collect their 10th straight victory.

“He’s as tough a little sucker as I’ve ever seen,” Williams said.

In the last 99 seconds of regulation, Paige’s two free throws, pull-up 3 off the dribble and another pair of free throws at the 3.6-second mark all were tiebreakers that provided North Carolina with narrow leads.

N.C. State (17-11, 7-8) answered each one of those with Warren doing the bulk of the responding. He ran off 10 points during the last 3:48 of regulation.

The Tar Heels led 71-69 with 1.5 seconds left in regulation and the Wolfpack facing the proposition of a lengthy inbounds from three-quarters court. Leslie McDonald’s grabbing foul, as he face-guarded Warren and tried to deny him the pass, sent Warren to the line, where he sank two free throws to force overtime.

“From start to finish, there was a lot of great effort,” Warren. “Unfortunately, it came down to the last shot. … It was a great game. But it doesn’t matter if we didn’t win.”

J.P. Tokoto’s 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists were critical in helping North Carolina stay afloat. The Tar Heels played from behind for long stretches, and were down by as many as 11 points in the first half. Tokoto later was regulated to the bench due to cramping.

Ralston Turner added 16 points for the Wolfpack.

This night belonged to Paige (11-for-21 from the field, 7-for-12 from the beyond the arc) and Warren (13-for-25 from the field), the sophomore stars who both produced career highs in scoring while piling up a combined 71 points.

Paige had only four points and had missed four of his six shots by halftime, when N.C. State led 34-26. What followed was the latest and most memorable in this season’s long line of explosive second halves from the Tar Heels’ leading scorer.

“Marcus won the battle (with Warren),” Johnson said. “That’s all that matters right now.

“Like Coach always says, you want to go to somebody’s living room and take their brownies. We came in here and we took their brownies.”

An hour before tip-off, N.C. State student fans already were fully in heckle mode. They screamed at Paige, asking if he knew how to spell his name before reciting, at a considerable volume, the ABC’s toward all of the Tar Heels in general.

In overtime, Warren’s six straight points — on a put-back of his own miss, two free throws and a running bucket in which he was fouled by McDonald while soaring over the Tar Heels guard — pushed the Wolfpack ahead 77-71 with three minutes left.

Warren was red-hot then, having generated 14 of N.C. State’s 17 points to that juncture. And with this place rejoicing in full throat and the normally reserved Warren pounding his chest demonstratively, N.C. State seemed poised to secure victory against its most despised rival.

Paige came to the rescue again, drilling a pair of 3s separated by 74 seconds and sinking two free throws that pulled North Carolina within 83-81 with 41.6 seconds left.

After Warren was trapped by the pressing Tar Heels and turned the ball over in the backcourt, James Michael McAdoo’s quick post-up tied the score at 83-83 with 30.5 seconds to go.

And so the stage was set for the ending.

“Honestly, the way it ended, it was great, especially because of this environment,” Paige said. “I don’t know what it is about us, but they really hate us.”

He changed gears a moment later as he spoke and offered something for the Wolfpack fans who had inquired so loudly about his spelling capabilities.

“I think it’s M-A-R-C-U-S. I think that’s right,” he said. “In case you were wondering, I can spell my name.”

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RALEIGH — As Marcus Paige fielded questions from a pack of reporters in the North Carolina locker room, Brice Johnson was seated a few feet away, wearing a grin that looked permanently plastered on his face, in a state of marvel at what he just had witnessed.

“That was amazing,” Johnson said, shaking his head and smiling. “He was on fire. That’s the greatest I’ve ever seen him play. He won it for us.”

Each of those four sentences rang so very true on a classic Wednesday night that became a tour de force between two of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s best players.

In an all-out duel with North Carolina State’s T.J. Warren, Paige summoned a heroic 35-point performance from which the 19th-ranked Tar Heels needed every last clutch drop to escape the Wolfpack 85-84 in overtime at PNC Arena.

Paige’s driving layup — the 6-foot-1 lefty extended past the 6-8 Warren after picking up a screen from Johnson out high — kissed off the backboard and fell through as the game-winner with 0.9 seconds remaining in another typically heated clash between these old rivals.

That was the ultimate silencer, the final masterful stroke of his 31 points and seven 3-pointers delivered after halftime, that capped North Carolina’s rally from a six-point deficit in overtime and ended a sublime, can-you-top-this shootout with Warren, who electrified this building at times while delivering 36 points.

“It was quite a scoring exhibition by both of us,” Paige said. “It would be a knock to say that my teammates weren’t giving it their all, but at the same time, two great shot-makers were making a lot of shots.”

Warren, the ACC’s top scorer, went to the foul line with 7.7 seconds left and the score tied 83-83. He missed the first free throw. The second one bounced in for an 84-83 N.C. State lead.

As Paige dribbled across midcourt with the precious time evaporating, North Carolina coach Roy Williams was pointing to the spot at the top of the key where he wanted Johnson to set the screen.

Warren, moving into help position, was the last line of defense. He challenged Paige in the lane and nearly blocked the decisive shot with his outstretched right arm.

“I saw a pretty big opening,” Paige said. “I also knew I had three or four layups in the second half blocked at the rim. So I knew I was going to have to extend and put it high off the glass and hope for a good bounce.”

He poured in 10 points during overtime after scoring the final seven points of regulation for the Tar Heels (21-7 overall, 11-4 ACC), who trailed by nine early in the second half and seven with less than nine minutes remaining in regulation, yet still managed to collect their 10th straight victory.

“He’s as tough a little sucker as I’ve ever seen,” Williams said.

In the last 99 seconds of regulation, Paige’s two free throws, pull-up 3 off the dribble and another pair of free throws at the 3.6-second mark all were tiebreakers that provided North Carolina with narrow leads.

N.C. State (17-11, 7-8) answered each one of those with Warren doing the bulk of the responding. He ran off 10 points during the last 3:48 of regulation.

The Tar Heels led 71-69 with 1.5 seconds left in regulation and the Wolfpack facing the proposition of a lengthy inbounds from three-quarters court. Leslie McDonald’s grabbing foul, as he face-guarded Warren and tried to deny him the pass, sent Warren to the line, where he sank two free throws to force overtime.

“From start to finish, there was a lot of great effort,” Warren. “Unfortunately, it came down to the last shot. … It was a great game. But it doesn’t matter if we didn’t win.”

J.P. Tokoto’s 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists were critical in helping North Carolina stay afloat. The Tar Heels played from behind for long stretches, and were down by as many as 11 points in the first half. Tokoto later was regulated to the bench due to cramping.

Ralston Turner added 16 points for the Wolfpack.

This night belonged to Paige (11-for-21 from the field, 7-for-12 from the beyond the arc) and Warren (13-for-25 from the field), the sophomore stars who both produced career highs in scoring while piling up a combined 71 points.

Paige had only four points and had missed four of his six shots by halftime, when N.C. State led 34-26. What followed was the latest and most memorable in this season’s long line of explosive second halves from the Tar Heels’ leading scorer.

“Marcus won the battle (with Warren),” Johnson said. “That’s all that matters right now.

“Like Coach always says, you want to go to somebody’s living room and take their brownies. We came in here and we took their brownies.”

An hour before tip-off, N.C. State student fans already were fully in heckle mode. They screamed at Paige, asking if he knew how to spell his name before reciting, at a considerable volume, the ABC’s toward all of the Tar Heels in general.

In overtime, Warren’s six straight points — on a put-back of his own miss, two free throws and a running bucket in which he was fouled by McDonald while soaring over the Tar Heels guard — pushed the Wolfpack ahead 77-71 with three minutes left.

Warren was red-hot then, having generated 14 of N.C. State’s 17 points to that juncture. And with this place rejoicing in full throat and the normally reserved Warren pounding his chest demonstratively, N.C. State seemed poised to secure victory against its most despised rival.

Paige came to the rescue again, drilling a pair of 3s separated by 74 seconds and sinking two free throws that pulled North Carolina within 83-81 with 41.6 seconds left.

After Warren was trapped by the pressing Tar Heels and turned the ball over in the backcourt, James Michael McAdoo’s quick post-up tied the score at 83-83 with 30.5 seconds to go.

And so the stage was set for the ending.

“Honestly, the way it ended, it was great, especially because of this environment,” Paige said. “I don’t know what it is about us, but they really hate us.”

He changed gears a moment later as he spoke and offered something for the Wolfpack fans who had inquired so loudly about his spelling capabilities.

“I think it’s M-A-R-C-U-S. I think that’s right,” he said. “In case you were wondering, I can spell my name.”